Walmart plan for Campbell and Grand will go to City Council

Zoning commission rejected store proposal

Jan. 3, 2013

Walmart is taking its plan to build the fifth Walmart Neighborhood Market at Grand Street and Campbell Avenue before City Council after Springfield's Planning and Zoning Commission turned down the request in December. / Nathan Papes/News-Leader

Months after fielding complaints about the planned Hy-Vee store on East Sunshine Street, the City Council is starting 2013 with a public hearing on a proposed Walmart Neighborhood Market at Campbell Avenue and Grand Street.

Like Hy-Vee, Walmart needs the council to sign off on a rezoning request before it can develop property, currently home to Calvary Temple Assembly of God and a handful of houses. Also like Hy-Vee, Walmart has met with some opposition from residents worried about the impact the store could have on the neighborhood.

Unlike Hy-Vee — which will have no direct vehicular or pedestrian access to the surrounding residential streets — Walmart’s plan calls for access onto Normal Street, as well as the busier Campbell and Grand.

That connection proved to be a sticking point when the proposal went before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 6.

Although some of the comments by residents and others opposed the addition of another Walmart in general, several of those who spoke at the hearing expressed concern about the increased traffic the development would bring.

Commissioners shared similar concerns before voting against the proposal, with several commenting on Normal Street in particular.

His colleague Phil Young put it bluntly: “That access to Normal Street has to go away to even look at the idea.”

Whether Walmart will make any changes to the plan presented in December remains to be seen.

“We have not been made aware of any modifications or any negotiations with anyone,” said Mike MacPherson, a senior city planner.

MacPherson noted that, as an advisory board, the zoning commission’s decision not to recommend the change is not binding, allowing Walmart to pitch the change directly to the City Council on Jan. 14.

“The issue is Normal Street. And I think what they have determined, through their traffic study … is they have to have (access),” MacPherson said, adding that planning staff have recommended the change be approved. “They feel that it’s a critical element to making that site successful, as they testified to at the commission hearing.”

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Entrances on Grand and Campbell could be limited by proximity to the intersection. City staff recommend the Campbell entrance be right-turn-only.

Walmart representatives have said access from Normal Street is needed for public safety as well as to accommodate customers coming from areas immediately south.

“It doesn’t make any sense ... if the neighborhood to the south of it can’t even get in,” said Jeff Clayton, a real estate broker working for Walmart on the project. “It is important because people want to be able to enter something like a neighborhood grocery store as easily as possible. So that is a very essential part of the project.”

Clayton said he thought some of the opposition at the Dec. 6 meeting came from people outside the neighborhood and was based in part on “misperceptions of what the traffic on Normal actually is.”

He said an updated traffic study is being completed ahead of the Jan. 14 council meeting.

In an email to council members Dec. 17, neighbors Dani and Don Underwood disputed the way Walmart had calculated traffic numbers earlier and urged the council to reject the proposal as written.

“Streets in our neighborhood are already less than perfect. Normal and Loren are already in need of attention,” the email said, arguing that “any business — not just Wal-Mart — that generates an increase in traffic flow ... puts our children and friends at a higher risk of injury and our property at a higher risk of damage (from vehicular accidents).”

Mayor Bob Stephens said the controversy came as a surprise to several council members with whom he has talked. But he’s hopeful a compromise of some kind could help defuse the conflict before it comes to a vote Jan. 28.

“In talking with representatives from Walmart, I’m hopeful there are some other options that will be explored which will enable that market to go there,” he said, noting the store would bring jobs to the campus area and surrounding neighborhoods.

He said he’s driven along that section of Normal Street several times recently and wants to keep residents’ concerns in mind, as well. “I’m certainly hopeful that something can be worked out where the neighborhood is protected and the development is able to go forward.”

Echoing comments made by zoning commission members, Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky said she’d like to see Walmart amend the plan to eliminate access to Normal Street.

“I think that would be the smart thing for them to do. Otherwise it seems like a good location,” she said. “The reality is, it’s going to be developed ... Our job is to try to minimize, to the extent that we can, any adverse impact on the neighborhood.”